Shop Fox / W & H Molding Knives question
I had some custom knives made for my shop fox a couple of weeks ago. I just now got around to installing them when I realized that the knives are much higher than the planer knives that came with it.
I’ve tried adjusting the height of the rollers but it seems like more of a fine adjustment and doesn’t address the gross alignment problem that I’m having (The rollers are at least 1/2″ higher than the bottom of the cutting knives). Can anyone tell me if there is a way to relocate the cutter head or the rollers to correct this? The knife grinder asked me what sort of machine I had and it fits perfectly with the cutter head so I just have a hard time imagining that this hasn’t happened before. Any help would be appreciated.
On a related subject, if I can do this sort of alignment, how should the rollers be aligned in relationship with the cutters (flush, a few thousandths below the cutters, etc.)?
Thanks
Replies
aa, If I understand , the knives are a different stock size in ht by like 1/2" ?
Call the folks you got the knives from before you do too much more .
dusty
The molding knives are supposed to cut below the rollers otherwise you wouldn't get a profile. On the W&H they will project up to 3/4" more than the planer blades do. When you put stock through it cuts in one pass (unless you have a W&H with the new multi-pass kit in it). I'll prepare you in advance, when you do there will be more noise and bigger chips and chunks flying out the chip chute. You will also often have a few inches of snipe at both ends that will need to be trimmed so expect that as well. If your profile doesn't completely go across the stock (like a baseboard) then you can take a second light pass to final size. The first pass being left a 1/32" or less from finished depth. I suggest playing with some knot free cheap wood before you use any good stock until you get the hang of it. So restore the rollers to where they were to begin with and reread the machine manual (or download it from Grizzly if you don't have it) and have some fun.
As QC has already stated, this is normal.
On my W & H, I make 95% of the mouldings in 2 passes. The final pass is just to clean up the moulding. The sharper the knives, the less sanding you'll need to do.
The rollers need the grip and drag the moulding through the machine with contact at the highest point of the moulding, not the lowest part of the cut.
Jeff
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